Multiple automatically retractable and extensible sliding doors in planar alignment

ABSTRACT

Presented is a sliding door structure for wide openings or for use as a partition to divide a large room into separate rooms and which utilizes separate door panels arranged in close juxtaposition while stored and which are moved individually from storage and placed in edge-to-edge planar alignment to close an opening when extended.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS [72]Inventor Emil M. Petterborg 1442 Wright Ave., Sunnyvale, Calif. 94087Appl. No. 37,983

[22] Filed May 18,1970 [45] Patented May 4,1971

Primary Examinerl(enneth Downey Attorney.lohn .I. beavitt [54] MULTIPLEAUTOMATICALLY RETRACTABLE AND EXTENSIBLE SLIDING DOORS 1N PLANARALIGNMENT ABSTRACT: Presented is a sliding door structure for wideopenings or for use as a partition to divide a large room into 18CIaims, 9 Drawing Figs.

49/127 separate rooms and which utilizes separate door panels ar- E05d13/02 ranged in close juxtaposition while stored and which are 49/127,moved individually from storage and placed in edge-to-edge planaralignment to close an opening when extended.

' I28, I30, I02, 103; 160/197 PATENTEUHAY 41911 I saw 1 OF 5 INVENTOR-EM IL M. PETTERBORG PATENTED-HAY 41971 SHEET 2 OF 5 E. 0 mB ND Wm m E 4/D. M .u. W M Em A 9 PATENTED MAY 4197] SHEET 3 BF INVENTOR. EMIL M.PETTERBORG gym MULTIPLE AUTOMATICALLY RETRACTABLE AND EXTENSIBLE SLIDINGDOORS INPLANAR ALIGNMENT BACKGROUND OF INVENTION.

In times of high building and land costs it is an advantage to designstructures containing rooms or halls which may be used for multiplepurposes by dividing the area encompassed by the room into smaller areasthrough use of appropriate partitions. Many different types ofpartitions, including sliding doors, have been proposed, and many havebeen used. For instance, U.S. Pat. 2,052,089 teaches the use of afolding partition which is adapted to subdivide a large room andcontinue a prescribed decorative plan so as to convey the illusion ofpermanence. Such folding doors however are not only attached one toanother but are'carrie'd'by floor-level trackway which constitutes animpediment-to traffic and to maintenance of the' floor area whenthedoors'are foldedf Similar folding door structures or partitionsare'discl'osed in U.S. Pat. Nos; 2,945,535 and 3,098,519, each of whichteaches the use of a multiplicity of folding panelshaving associatededges pivotally interconnected in a manner to permit folding of themultiple panels into a relatively flat pack, or extension of the panelsinto a partition. There are two main reasons why the panels of suchfolding partitions are joined along adjacent vertical edges. One reasonsis that most such partitions are extended by 'grasping'the leasingpartition and walking with it across the room to be divided. Since allpanels are attached, successive panels align themselves with the leadingpanel to form the partition. The second reason is that conventionalpartition panels are usually fabricated of light material having littleinherent rigidity and must be interconnected in order to lend rigidityto the partition when extended. It is one of the objects of the presentinvention to provide a room dividing means incorporating a multiplicityof separate multiple panels. The main support frame includes a doorpanel carriage support portion associated with the storage function ofthe door panels, and a room track portion, formed as an extension of thedoor panel carriage support portion, and associated with the extension.function of the door panels in the formation of a partition.

Prior to extension of the door panels 'to form a partition, each of thepanels is independently suspended in the door panel carriage supportportion on an appropriate door panel carriage adapted to movetransversely with respect to the room track portion .so as to bring eachof the door panels held in storage-successively into alignment with theroom track portion. Door panel carriage drivem eans is provided toeffect such transverse translationiof thedoor panel carriage, and

door panel drive meansare provided operable to propel each door panelfrom the door panel carriage as each door panel is brought into planaralignment with the room track portion.

Means are'also provided for propelling each door panel individuallyacross the' opening along the room track portion and for causinglowering of each door as it is placed in proper position in the opening.The carriage drive means and door panel drive means operating inreverse, in conjunction with appropriate control means,,are utilized toeffect retraction of the door panels and restorage' thereof in opposedjuxtaposed position suspended from the door panel carriage.

oescamrrou or DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view illustrating theroom dividing means extended across a room to form a-partition.vPortions of the room dividing means and supporting wall structure arebroken away to show, the underlying mechanism.

; A FIG.-2 is a-fragmentary perspective view illustrating the panelswhich are not pivotally interconnected along their vertical edges.

Another object of the invention is to provide a room dividwhen storedlie in opposed juxtaposition and whichwhen ex tended to form a partitionlie in edge-to-edge' planar align-. ment.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a room dividingmeans incorporating a multiplicity of separate panels automaticallyextensible to form a partition and retractable for storage purposes bymerely pressing a button.

This invention constitutes an improvement over-U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,160issued Feb. 4, I969 to the inventor named herein. In that patent, eachseparate door panel of the assembly has to be walked across the room andplaced in appropriate position to form the partition. The presentinvention is an improvement over that system in that each door isautomatically moved to its proper position without human intervention.Additionally, in the patent noted, each of the door panels was biased upor down during the closing or opening operation by spring tension thatrequired close calculation and tolerances. In the present structure, thedoor panels are biased up or down by cam action that results in positiveplacement of each door panel and eliminates the need to consider theweight of the door in relation to the force required to raise or lowerit.

' The invention provides other advantages, some of which, with theforegoing, will become apparent from the following description and thedrawings. It is to be understood however that the invention is notlimited to the embodiments illustrated and described, as it maybeembodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.

BRIEF-SUMMARY oF INVENTION j IN In terms of broad'inclusion, the roomdividing means of the invention comprises multiple panels, either opaqueor transparent, supporte'd'on a'rnain support frame rigidly at tached tothe wall structure of a room and extending across an the main supportframe and illustrating also how each separate door panel is suspendedfrom the door panel carriage.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view in plan illustrating the relationship betweenthe room track portion and the door panel carriage support portion ofthe main frame and the means used for. raising and lowering each doorpanel at the appropriate time.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view in elevation of the, assembly illustrated inFIG. {showing portions of the doors in phantom lines.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of thedoor panel drive means.

FIG. 7 'is a-fragmentaryf plan view .in enlarged scale of the camassembly used to' control lowering and raising of each door as'itreaches its appropriateposition.

FIG. 8 is aifragmentary sectional view, partly in elevation, takenin theplane indicated by the line 8-8 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a wiring diagram illustrating the interrelationship betweenmechanical and electrical control elements which control the extensionand retraction of the multiple door panels.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT I 7 storage compartmenffor thedoo'rsmay constitute a cabinet which projects into the room from floor toceiling, thus sacrificing some of the floor space of the room in theinterest of securing greater utility from'ithe room by beingenabled todivide the room into smaller room portions.

dividing structure is installed in an already existing room, only ashallow and narrow beam, appropriately camouflaged, projects from theceiling.

In the interest of clarity, the description which follows is 'concemedwith the type of installation that is made in an already existing roomto effect a division thereof into two separate areas Referring to FIG.1, there is there shown the interior surfaces of opposed parallel wallsA and B of a room having a floor C and a ceiling structure D, and whichit is desired be divided into two separate rooms by an appropriatepartition. It should be understood that while the description whichfollows relates to the division of a single room into two separaterooms, the invention is just as applicable to an outside wall whichseparates the interior of a room from the exterior of the house. Thus,the invention may be utilized to separate an outdoor swimming pool areafrom an indoor family room area so that in the wintertime the familyroom may be an'enclosed area apart from the swimming pool area, while inthe summertimethe two areas may be combined by retraction of theintervening partition to afford unimpeded use of both areas.

As shown in FIG.. I, there is provided a main support frame designatedgenerallyby the numeral 2, extending transversely between the spacedparallel walls A and B, the support frame including an elongated roomtrack portion 4, and a door panel carriage support portion designatedgenerally by the numeral 5, and with the room track portion extendingcompletely across the opening to be spanned by the door panels.

In the interest of brevity, the door panel carriage support portiondesignated generally by the numeral 5 will be explained in detail withthe interrelationship'thereto of the room track portion being explainedthereafter, As illustrated in FIG. 2, the carriage support portion 5 isconveniently fabricated from a pair of elongated stringers or rails 6and 7, conveniently formed from structural iron in the form of a boxsection, and joined at points intermediate their ends by transverselyextending support bars 8, 9, I1, 12 and 13. These bars may convenientlybe formed from strap iron and are preferably secured to the stringers byany appropriate means such as welding. The bars 8-13 serve to form avery rigid structure from whichmay be suspended a pair a spaced trackmembers 14 and 16, the track member 14 being disposed adjacent the leftend of the carriage support portion or frame, while the track member 16is disposed across the right end of the stringers 6 and 7.

The track members 14 and 16, as seen in FIG. 2, extend transverselyacross the space between longitudinal rails 6 and 7, and provide meansby which a door panel carriage designated generally by the numeral 17may be rollably suspended from the carriage support portion in a mannerto permit transverse displacement of the door panel carriage withrespect to the longitudinal stringers 6 and 7. For this purpose, thetrack members 14 and 16 preferably constitute a box section one side ofwhich has been split to provide a pair of laterally spaced reentrantflanges I8 the upper edges of which rollably support an appropriatehanger including a pair of wheels 21 and 22 disposed on opposite sidesof a hanger bracket 23 disposed between the wheels and dependingtherefrom so that it projects between the reentrant flanges 18.

The bottom end of the hanger bracket 23 is appropriately welded as at 24to the upper side 26 of a longitudinally extending door panel storagetrack 27 having a similar configuration to the track member 14, butextending longitudinally is substantial parallelism with the rails 6 and7 of the main support frame. It will thus be seen that since the storagetrack 27 is rollably suspended adjacent each end from the wheels 2i and22, the storage track may move transversely between the rails so as toappropriately position each of the succeeding storage tracks 28, 29 and30 in a predetermined relationship with other associated components.

Inasmuch as the storage track sections 27-30 move in unison, it is notnecessary that each track be provided with a suspension assembly 21-23.lt'has been found that suitable cross braces in the form of plates 31may be secured across the storage track sections to retain the tracksections rigidly related to each other. Since it is an advantage tostore the door panels in as small a space as may 0 conveniently beprovided, the storage track sections 27-30 are preferably no wider thanthe thickness of each panel, and are spaced from one another only anamount sufficient to provide operating clearance between adjacent doorpanels.

As indicated in FIG. 2, there are preferably four such storage tracksections, each section being adapted to support a suspended door panel.Obviously, some room openings may require more or less door panelsandsuch panels and may be either removed or added to suit the requirementsof each application.

Again referring to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the door panel carriageconstituting the juxtaposed door=panel storage track sections 2730 areonly slightly longer than the rails 6 and 7. The left end of each of thestorage track sections is provided with an elongated opening 36 formedin the upper wall 26 for purposes which will hereinafter be explained.The width of the door panel carriage; i.e.,'th e combined width of allof the door panel carriage tracks, is correlated to thetransverse'position of the room track portion so that when the doorpanels 37, 38,

39 and 41 are held in stored position as indicated in phantom lines inFIG. 2, the storage track section 27 and the door 37 which it supportswill lie in substantial axial alignment with the room track portion.

Each of the door panels 37through 41 is provided on its upper edge witha wheeled hanger assembly 42 similar to the wheeled hanger assemblies2l-23 on which the door panel cariiage is rollably suspended. Thisconstruction is shown in FIG. 3.

It will thus be seen that with the door panel carriage in the positionillustration in FIG. 2, door panel 37 lies in axial alignment with theroom track portion so that the door panel may be transferred from thedoor panel carriage to the room track portion to place each door in itsappropriate position. The room track portion preferably comprises aplurality of sections 46, 47, 48 and 49, the track section 49 beingrigidly fastened to the ceiling structure D by suitable adjusting screwsIt will be noted that this fixed section 49 of room track por'- tion isaxially aligned with the storagetrack' 27 suspended in the door' panelcarriage. Additionally, this track section has a length equal to thewidthof the last. door panel .41 to be ejected from the door panelcarriage. The remaining track sections 46 48 fill the gap between theend of track section 49 and the inner surface of wall A, and are alignedwith the fixed track section 49 but are'supported in a manner to permitraising and lowering of these track sections for purposes which willhereinafter be explained.

As indicated in FIGS. 1 and 5, the adjacent ends of each of the tracksections 46, 47 and 48 substantially abut one one another the jointtherebetween being reinforced by an overlapping short channel section 51one end of which is welded to one end of one of the track sections,while the associated end of the other track section is adapted to slidevertically and longitudinally within the overlapping channel section soas to pro vide some flexibility in the system. Transverse stability isprovided by an elongated stringer 52, conveniently formed by a 2X4 towhich a'facia member 53 may be attached for the purpose of covering themechanism utilized to support the door panels in extended position.

Each of the track sections 46, 47 and 48 are supported for up-and-downmovement by pairs of pulleys 56, 57 and 58, respectively, the tracksections being movably suspended by suitable pairs of suspension cables59, 61 and 62, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the suspension pulleysare supported on the ceiling structure D, and the suspension cables runlongitudinally over the room track portion to terminate attached to 1actuation of the carriage to place each of the door panels successivelyiii planar alignment with theroom track portion. There are preferablythree such cam rollers, the upper roller working in conjunction withlever 68 and cable 67 and lever 66 to,control the raising and loweringof the first door-panel 37. The next succeeding cam roller 69' works inconjunction with a second lever 68, also pivoted to the main frame aboutthe same pivot point as the cam lever 68, and having its free end atached by a cable 71 to one end of the control lever 72,

the upper end of which is in turn connected by cable 73 to the roomtrack portion 47 associated with door-panel-38when it has assumed itsfinal position. In like manner, the third cam roller 69" works inconjunction with a third cam lever 68", similarly pivoted about the samepivot point as the cam lever 68 and having its free end connected by 'anappropriate cable 74 to one end of the control lever 76. The other endof the control lever is connected by a cable 77 to the room tracksection 78 associated with door panel 39 when it reaches its ulti-' mateposition.

Referring to FIG. 2, lateral or transverse displacement of the doorpanel carriage 17 is effected through an electric motor 81, its drivepinion 82 being connected through an appropriate belt 83 to a pinion 84on a drive spindle 86. The drive spindle is appropriately joumaledbetween frame members 6 and 7, and is parallel to a second drive spindle87 similarlyjoumaled between frame members 6 and 7. Suitable sprockets88 and 89 on the spindles 86 and 87, respectively, are connected by achain 91 to effect rotation of the spindles upon selective rotation ofthe reversible motor 81. As shown, the spindles work in conjunction withcomplementarily threaded thrust blocks 92 and 93 to effect latetal ortransverse displacement of the carriage frame 17 upon rotation of themotor.

Again referring to FIG. 2, it will be seen that in the position ofstorage of the door panels 37--41, door panel 37 lies in planaralignment with the room track portion 49, in position to be propelledfrom the door panel carriage 17 upon actuatioir of appropriate controlmechanisms. To initiate closing of the door opening with the four panels37-41, the 'controlcircuit illustrated in FIG. 9 is energized byshifting the doublepole, three position selector switch 101 from its OFFposition to its OUT position to effect energization of the reversiblemotor 103. Energization of this motor effects rotation of friction drivewheels 104, 106, and-107 associated respectively witli ioom trackportions 46, 47 and 48. Each of the friction drive wheels is providedwith a suitable friction surface 108 which cooperates with a similarfriction surface 109 on a plate 112 forming a part of the hangerassembly associated with each of the door panels, and from which each ofthe door panels is suspended. Rotation of these drive wheels in theappropriate direction while engaged with the upper edge of the doorscauses the doors to move outwardly along the room track portions.

To effect ejection of each door panel in turn from the door panelcarriage it should be understood that in the retracted.

positions of the doors, the first door 37 lies in proper align- As shownin FIGS. 2 and 5, the drive wheel 117 is associated with the door panelcarriage 17 and upon energization of solen'oid 126' engages the frictionsurface 109 on the door panel. This occurs only when each door panel inits turn is positioned immediately below and in planar alignment withdrive wheel 117. To insure such alignment, energization of solenoid 126is controlled to allow motor 81 to move the door panel carriage to bringeach door in tum into alignment. Proper alignment effects closing ofnormally open switch 128 and energizes solenoid 126 to place therotating drive wheel 117 in driving attitude. Closing switch 128completes a circuit through solenoid coil 129, thus unlatching singlepoledouble throw latchingrelay 130 so that it assumes its RESET positionin which no current flows through this switch.

Inasmuch .as drive wheels 116 and 117 are rotatedthrough appropriatedrive belts or chains by the motor 103 along with drive wheels 104-107,as soon as the solenoids 126 and127 are energized, rotating drive wheel117 makes contact throughslot 36 with the upper friction surface 109carried by the first door panel 37. As soon as contact is made, doorpanel 37 is ejected from its storage track section and propelled to theleft as viewed in FIG. 5 until the hanger assembly of the door panel istransferred onto the room track portion 49 which is fixedly secured tothe ceiling structure next adjacent the door panel carriage. In thisposition of the door it no longer holds switch 128 in a closed conditionand it returns to a circuit interrupting normally open condition anddeenergizes solenoid 126 to permit drive wheel 117 to be elevated toprovide clearance for the second door panel.

As the first door panel 37 progresses to the point where friction wheel116 engages the friction surface 109 on the door, the door is againpropelled to the left as viewed in FIG. 5 until the door passes ontoroom track portion 48 which, as indicated in FIG. 5 is in axialalignment with room track portion 49. When the door reaches drive wheel107, this drive wheel continues to propel the door until it engages roomtrack portion 47 where drive wheel 106 propels the door forwardly intoengagement with room track portion 46 and drive wheel 104.

IT It will thus be noted that each door panel is continuously propelledalong the room track portions, all of whichportions lie in axialalignment during movement of the first door panel across the opening.The spacings of the friction drive wheels is such that each door panelis continuously propelled by at least one drive wheel along the roomtrack portions. When the first door panel to be propelled from the doorpanel carriage reaches it ultimate position on the far side of theopening, the drive wheel 104 will still be in frictional engagement withthe friction surface 109. To insure that door panel 37 makes a tightabutment with the opposing wall surface, and that succeeding doorstightly abut each other, each drive wheel is provided with a frictionclutch (not shown) which will maintain some driving force on the doorpanel so long as the drive wheel is engaged with anassociated doorpanel, even though the door panel has come to a stop.

It should be noted that as each door panel is propelled across the roomopening, it is spaced above the floor so that no restriction is imposedagainst movement of the door across the opening. As soon as the doorreaches its ultimate position against the far wall, as illustrated inFIG. 5., the door 37 momentarily engages a normally open switch 131which activates motor 81 to effect lateral translation of the door panelcarriage 17 to position the next succeeding door 38 for ejection fromthe carriage frame 17. Such lateral movement of the door panel carriagecauses corresponding lateral movement of ment for immediate ejection.Ejection is efiected by a pair of ejector drive wheels 116 and 117pivotally mounted on the main frame on suitable crank arms 118 and119,.respectively,

- having lever portions 121 and 122 connected by cables" 123 and 124,respectively,to solenoids 126 and 127. Actuation of the main controlswitch 101 to eject the door panels-actuator; the solenoids 126 and 127to immediately shift the drive wheels 116 and 117 from a retractedposition to a drive position.

the roller cam assembly 69, pennitting cam lever 68 to move to the rightas viewed in FIG. 2, thus releasing tension on cable 67 and permittingcontrol lever 66 to pivot counterclockwise, releasing tension in cable59 which up to this point has supported the weight of the room trackportion 46 and its suspended door panel 36 in a position above thefloor.

Upon release of tension in the cable, the attached room track portion 46is lowered so that the door panel rests on the floor to close the gapbetween the bottom of the door and the floor. Such downward movement ofthe door panel and associated room track section 46 disengages the drivewheel 104 from the friction surface 109 associated with that door panel.it should be remembered that during transport of the first door acrossthe room opening, switch 128 is in a normally open condition, thusinterrupting the circuit to motor 81. As

soon as door 37 reaches its ultimate position and closes normally openswitch 131, reset coil 132 is energized, causing switch 130 to switchfrom its RESET position to its SET position, thus causing a current flowthrough switch contact 133. This again completes a circuit to the motor81 and initiates transverse movement of the carriage to place the seconddoor 38 in position to be ejected. Such transverse movement of thecarriage continues until the door 38 effects closing of switch 128,again energizing solenoid 126 to place drive wheel 117 into contact withthe friction surface associated with door panel 38, and also energizingthe RESET coil 129 so as to switch latching relay 130 into its RESETposition. Actuation of these switches in this manner interruptsoperation of motor 81.

Door panel 38 is ejected and carried across the room opening in the samemanner as discussed above with respect to door panel 37. When door panel38 reaches its ultimate position, it momentarily closes switch 134, thusenergizing coil 132 and again actuating latching relay 130 to its SETposition to again reenergize motor 81. Motor 81 remains energized untilswitch 128 is closed by door panel 39 assuming a position from which itmay be ejected from the carriage frame. The

cycle is again repeated as with the two previous doors until door panel39 momentarily closes normally open switch 136 to again actuate latchingrelay 130 into its SET position to again energize motor 81 to place thelast door panel 41 in position to be ejected.

With respect to door panels 38 and 39, it should of course be understoodthat these panels are moved across the door opening in raised position.Lowering of each of these panels is effected in turn by lateraltranslation of the roller cam assembly 69 so as to pennit clockwisepivotal movement of the cam levers 68' and 68", thus relieving tensionon cables 73 and 77, respectively, which control lowering and elevationof these two doors.

The fourth door panel 41 is ejected in like manner. Having closednormally open switch 128 by being placed in position to be elected,motor 81 is interrupted as before and solenoid 126 is energized toeffect ejection of the fourth door panel from the carriage frame. Asthis door reaches its ultimate position in abutment with the adjacenttrailing edge of the third door 39, door panel 41 efiects opening ofnormally closed switch 137 so as to interrupt completely the circuit toboth motors 81 and 103. The opening of this switch 137 also effectsdeenergization of solenoids 126 and 127, thus permitting the drivewheels 116 and 117 to be shifted to their respective nondriving elevatedpositions. Switch 101 may then be moved to its OFF position so as tocompletely shutdown the circuit.

While door panels 37, 38 and 39 are suspended from room track portions46, 47 and 48, respectively, each of which is adapted to be lowered orraised by appropriate transverse movement of the cam roller assembly 69,it is preferred that the last room track portion 49, positioned nextadjacent the door panel carriage 17, and constituting the first roomtrack section through which each of the door panels 37, 38 and 39 mustbe propelled to reach their ultimate position, be attached securely tothe ceiling structure rather than being suspended for up-and-downmovement as the other room track portions.

Since it is preferred that all of the door panels be of the same height,this would result in a gap being left between the bottom of the lastdoor panel 41 and the floor. Accordingly, to close this gap, aretractable and extensible threshold assembly designated generally bythe numeral 141 is provided. The retractable and extensible thresholdassembly includes a retractable and extensible threshold guide track 142having an upstanding pin (not shown) on its outboard end 143 adapted tobe engaged by a plate 144 attached to the trailing edge of door panel39, positioned to engage the threshold pin as the trailing edge of thedoor panel 39 leaves the storage track section from which it issuspended. Thus, movement of door panel 39 across the opening draws withit the threshold guide track so that the threshold guide track lies onthe floor in position to form a guide and threshold closing the gapbeneath the fourth or last door panel 41 when it has been moved into itsfinal position. Preferably, the bottom edge'of door panel 41 is providedwith a channel 146 which straddles the threshold guide track.

Transverse displacement of the door panel carriage places the storagetrack section from which the door panel 37 is suspended a predetermineddistance beyond the adjacent room track portion 49, the distance beingcontrolled by the amount of movement required of the door panel carriageto bring the last door panel 41 into axial alignment with the room trackportion 49. To insure that the door panel carriage does not move beyondthis position, and to condition the control circuit so as to requireactuation of switch 101 to its IN position to effect and reverse lateralmovement of the door panel carriage 17, a limit switch 151 is providedadapted to be engaged by the storage track section associated with doorpanel 37 when the door panel carriage has reached its outermostposition.

To effect automatic retraction of the door panels into their juxtaposedstored attitude, the position selector switch 101 is shifted to its 1Nposition. This conditions" the control circuit illustrated in FIG. 9 byenergizing the coils 161 and 162 of relays 163 and 164, the formercontrolling operation of motor 81 and the latter controlling operationof motor 103, so that these motors will operate in a reverse direction,causing reverse rotation of the drive wheels 104, 106, 107, 116 and117,50 as to propel each door, in proper timed sequence, to the right asviewed in FIGS. 1 and 5.

As the retraction sequence begins it should be remembered that the doorpanel carriage is in position to receive door panel 41, this being thefirst door panel to be retracted. Thus, shifting the position of switch101 to the 1N position causes current to flow through normally closedswitch 166 which is actuated or opened by the last door (door panel 37)to close' down the system when all doors have been retracted. Currentalso flows through normally closed switch 167 which functions to limitmovement of the carriage frame in a transverse direction, thus shuttingdown motor 81 when the carriage frame has moved laterally to place thecarriage frame in position to receive door panel 37. Current also flowsthrough relay 163, through switch 168, but is stopped by the opencontacts of relay 136 and switch 128. Thus, during the IN mode ofoperation, initially when switch 101 is transferred to the IN position,only motor 103 is energized so as to effect rotation of drive wheels104, 106, 107, 116 and 117 in a direction to propel the door panels tothe right as viewed in FIG. 5. In this respect, it should be rememberedthat as soon as solenoid 127 is energized, drive wheel 116 superposedover door panel 41 is lowered into driving position in relation to thedoor panel 41 and starts the door panel 41 moving to the right intoengagement with the storage track section 26. Movement of this door inthis direction brings it into contract with the normally open contact ofswitch 128, closing this switch so as to energize solenoid 126 and thusplacing driving wheel 117 in driving relation with the door. The door iscarried into full suspension with the track storage section 26, and whenfully inserted, actuates microswitch 168 so as to interrupt the throughswitch 128, thus deenergizing solenoid 126 which retains drive wheel 117in contact with the door panel, pennitting this drive wheel to be raisedto permit clearance therebelow for lateral translation of the carriageframe. Actuation of switch 168 simultaneously energizer motor 81,causing the carriage frame to be transported laterally with respect tothe main frame so as to position the next succeeding track storagesection 28 in position to receive doorpanel 39. This lateral movement ofthe carriage. frame causes switch 128 to return to its normally opencondition, actuates switch 168 so that it returns to its Lateralmovement of the carriage frame in the IN mode car- I ries with it camplate 132 the lobes of which are positioned to wipe against blade 134 ofmicroswitch 136. 'Cam plate 132 cooperates with microswitch 136toproperly position each storage track section with the adjacent roomtrack section 49 to bring each storage track section in turn intoalignment with the room traelt section so that each door panel may passfrom the room track section 49 without impediment into the properlypositioned storage track section. Thus, referring to FIG. 2, whenstorage track section 17 lies axially aligned with room track section49, the blade 134 of microswitch 136 is held depressed to hold thisswitch in an OFF position in which no current flows through switch 136to motor 81. As previously explained, motor 81 is initially energized bycurrent flowing through contact 168 of switch 168 and switch 128, heldin closed position by impingement of door panel 41.

However, as the carriage frame starts to move, switch 128 immediatelyopens and this would nonnally interrupt the operation of motor 81.However, initial movement of the carriage frarne has caused the switchblade 134 of switch 136 to shift into open circuit condition in whichthe circuit is continued to motor 81 through the now normally closedcontacts of switch 136. Motor 81 continues to carry the carriage framelaterally laterally until the switch blade 134 is again depressed by thenext successive cam lobe of am plate 132. At this point. the nextsucceeding storage track section 28 will be in axial alignment with theroom track section 49 and power to motor 81 will be interrupted topermit insertion of door panel 39 intothe associated storage tracksection. The cycle is repeated until each of the doors has been insertedinto its appropriate storage track section within the storagecompartment.

It should be noted that displacement of the door panel carriage is nowin the opposite direction from which it moved when the door panels weremoving out of storage into their position across the door opening. Assoon as the first door panel 41 to be stored has reached its storedposition, and transvei se movement of the carriage commences, the camroller assembly 69 moves with the door panel carriage in a direction tosuccessively pivot the cam levers 68", 68' and 68 counterclockwise tosuccessively impose tension on cables 74,

71 and 67, thus causing each of the room track portions 48, 47 and 46,respectively, to be raised into a position where the sociated drivewheels 104, 106 and 107 cause these doors to be successively driven intothe door panel carriage.

It should be understood that each door panel reaches its fully retractedposition before the next succeeding door panel is raised from the floorand caused to move inwardly toward the door panel carriage.Additionally, it should be understood that as soon as door panel 41 hasbeen retracted irito its stored position movement of door panel 39 tothe right as viewed iii FIGS. 1 and 5 causes automatic retraction of theextensible threshold guide track, thus permitting unimpeded retractionof the succeeding door panels. Retraction of the threshold guide trackis effected by a counterweight 171, connected to cable 172 workingaround pulleys 173 and 174 and connected to the associatedend of thethreshold guide track in any suitable manner. Thus, as door panel 39 isretracted, the counter weight pulls the threshold guide track ahead ofthe door panel 39.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the door closure means ofthe invention may be applied both to old construction and to newconstruction to provide completely automatic opening and closi'rig of awide opening, or to provide ready placement of a partition to divide alarge room into two smaller rooms. it should also be understood that theinvention iscapable of being manufactured in modular units which may bepurchased in prepacked condition and assembled by a relativelyinexperienced home owner without undue ditl'lculty.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed to be novel andsought to be protected by letters patent is as follows:

1 claim:

1. A multiple automatically retractable and extensible door structureadapted to support doors in planar alignment in an opening arranged tobe closedby extension of the doors and door panel carriage supportportion and adapted to extend across a room opening;

b. a door panel carriage movably associated with said support frame formovement in a direction transverse to said room track portion of the ofthe main support frame;

c. a plurality of separate door panels movably suspended from said doorpanel carriage and adapted to be moved successively into planaralignment with said room track portion of said main support frame;

d. door panel carriage drive means associated with said main supportframe operable to effect transverse movement of said door panel carriageto effect planar alignment of each said door panel with said r'oom trackportion of said main support frame;

e. door panel drive means associated with said main support frameoperable to selectively propel each door panel from said door panelcarriage and along said room track portion of the main frame; and

f. control means associated with said main support frame and operable toautomatically control movement of said separate door panels from aretracted position in which said door panels are all suspended in saiddoor panel carriage to an extended position in which all said doors aresuspended from said room track portion of the main frame in planaralignment or returned from said extended position of said doors to theirretracted juxtaposed position suspended on said door panel carriage.

2. The combination according to claim 1, in which said room trackportion includes a plurality of track sections corresponding to thenumber of door panels.

3. The combination according toclaim 1, in which said room track portionincludes a plurality of track sections, at least one of which is rigidlyfixed and the remainder of which are movably mounted for up and downmovement to lower a door panel onto the floor when it has reached itsultimate position and raise a door panel from the floor prior toretraction thereof.

4. The combination according to claim 1, in which said main supportframe includes a room track support portion su perimposed over said roomtrack portion coextensive therewith and constituting an extension of thedoor panel carriage support portion.

5. The combination according to claim 1, in which said main supportframe is rigidly secured to the enclosing structure defining the openingwhich the door panels are adapted to close.

6. The combination according to claim 1 in which said door panelcarriage includes a plurality of juxtaposed storage track members eachadapted to support a sliding door panel in retracted position. c

7. The combination according to claim' 1, in which said door panelcarriageis movable intermittently in predetermined increments in adirection transverse to the direction of movement of sliding doors toclose or open said opening.

8. The combination according to claim 1, in which said door panelcarriage includes a plurality of juxtaposed storage track members eachadapted to support a sliding door panel in retracted position, anddetent means on said carriage operative to successively align eachstorage track member with said room track portion so that sliding doorpanels may move from said room track portions to said storage trackmembers.

9. The combination according to claim 1, in which each said door panelis individually suspended from said door panel carria e.

1 0. The combination according toclaim 1, in which each said door panelis individually suspended from a storage track member and is rollablysupported thereon to facilitate displacement of said door panellongitudinally of said storage track member.

'11. The combination according to claim I, in which said carriage drivemeans includes at least one drive spindle rotatably joumaled on saidmain support frame and extending transversely thereacross, meansinterconnecting said drive spindle and said door panel carriage toeffect translation of said door panel carriage laterally with respect tothe main frame and longitudinally of said drive spindle upon rotationthereof, and reversible drive means for effecting rotation of saidspindle 12. The combination according to claim 1, in which said carriagedrive means includes reversible electric motor means operably connectedto said door panel carriage to effect transverse movement thereof tobring each said door panel into planar alignment with said room trackportion, means operative upon attainment of such planar alignment tointerrupt said reversible drive means, and means for interrupting saidreversible drive means when all door panels have been retracted.

13. The combination according to claim 1, in which said door panel drivemeans includes a first drive wheel operable to move each door panel fromits storage track member onto said room track portion, and a pluralityof drive wheels spaced along said room track portion and engaging saiddoor panels to propel said door panels along said room track portion.

14. The combination according to claim I, which said door panel drivemeans includes a plurality of door panel drive wheels rotatably disposedalong said room track portion for selective rotation in a direction toeffect either extension or retraction of said door panels, and drivemeans interconnecting said door panel drive wheels and selectivelyoperable to effect rotation thereof.

15. The combination according to claim 1, in which said door panel drivemeans includes a first drive wheel operable to move each door panel fromits storage track member onto said room track portion when brought intodriving engagement with each said door panel, means mounted on saidsupport frame and operable to effect engagement of said first drivewheel successively with each door panelas it is aligned with said roomtrack portion to move the door panel onto the room track portion, anddrive means associated with said room track potion including aselectively reversible motor and a plurality of door panel drive wheelsfor selective rotation in a direction to effect extension or retractionof said door panels along said ro'om track portion.

16. The combination accordingto claim 1, in which said control means foreffecting extension and retraction of said multiple door panels includesa cam assembly operatively interposed between said main support frameand said door panel carriage to effect lowering of each door panel ontothe floor when said door panel has reached its proper position alongsaid room track portion.

17. The combination according to claim 1, in which said control meansfor effecting extension and retraction of said multiple door panelsincludes a plurality of limit and microswitches operable to monitor theposition of said door panels when in retracted position and suspendedfrom said door panel carriage so as to align each said door panelsuccessively with said room track portion when said doors are beingextended, and effect movement of said door panel carriage intermittentlyas each door panel is retracted and suspended from said door panelcarriage during retraction of said door panels.

18. The combination according to claim 1, in which said control meansoperable to effect extension and retraction of said multiple door panelsincludes circuit means to control said door panel drive means in propersequence to impose a driving force on each separate door panel as itmoves from said storage track member along said room track portion.

1. A multiple automatically retractable and extensible door structureadapted to support doors in planar alignment in an opening arranged tobe closed by extension of the doors and opened by retraction of suchdoors, comprising: a. a main support frame including a door panelcarriage support portion and a room track portion extending from thedoor panel carriage support portion and adapted to extend across a roomopening; b. a door panel carriage movably associated with said supportframe for movement in a direction transverse to said room track portionof the of the main support frame; c. a plurality of separate door panelsmovably suspended from said door panel carriage and adapted to be movedsuccessively into planar alignment with said room track portion of saidmain support frame; d. door panel carriage drive means associated withsaid main support frame operable to effect transverse movement of saiddoor panel carriage to effect planar alignment of each said door panelwith said room track portion of said main support frame; e. door paneldrive means associated with said main support frame operable toselectively propeL each door panel from said door panel carriage andalong said room track portion of the main frame; and f. control meansassociated with said main support frame and operable to automaticallycontrol movement of said separate door panels from a retracted positionin which said door panels are all suspended in said door panel carriageto an extended position in which all said doors are suspended from saidroom track portion of the main frame in planar alignment or returnedfrom said extended position of said doors to their retracted juxtaposedposition suspended on said door panel carriage.
 2. The combinationaccording to claim 1, in which said room track portion includes aplurality of track sections corresponding to the number of door panels.3. The combination according to claim 1, in which said room trackportion includes a plurality of track sections, at least one of which isrigidly fixed and the remainder of which are movably mounted for up anddown movement to lower a door panel onto the floor when it has reachedits ultimate position and raise a door panel from the floor prior toretraction thereof.
 4. The combination according to claim 1, in whichsaid main support frame includes a room track support portionsuperimposed over said room track portion coextensive therewith andconstituting an extension of the door panel carriage support portion. 5.The combination according to claim 1, in which said main support frameis rigidly secured to the enclosing structure defining the opening whichthe door panels are adapted to close.
 6. The combination according toclaim 1, in which said door panel carriage includes a plurality ofjuxtaposed storage track members each adapted to support a sliding doorpanel in retracted position.
 7. The combination according to claim 1, inwhich said door panel carriage is movable intermittently inpredetermined increments in a direction transverse to the direction ofmovement of sliding doors to close or open said opening.
 8. Thecombination according to claim 1, in which said door panel carriageincludes a plurality of juxtaposed storage track members each adapted tosupport a sliding door panel in retracted position, and detent means onsaid carriage operative to successively align each storage track memberwith said room track portion so that sliding door panels may move fromsaid room track portions to said storage track members.
 9. Thecombination according to claim 1, in which each said door panel isindividually suspended from said door panel carriage.
 10. Thecombination according to claim 1, in which each said door panel isindividually suspended from a storage track member and is rollablysupported thereon to facilitate displacement of said door panellongitudinally of said storage track member.
 11. The combinationaccording to claim 1, in which said carriage drive means includes atleast one drive spindle rotatably journaled on said main support frameand extending transversely thereacross, means interconnecting said drivespindle and said door panel carriage to effect translation of said doorpanel carriage laterally with respect to the main frame andlongitudinally of said drive spindle upon rotation thereof, andreversible drive means for effecting rotation of said spindle
 12. Thecombination according to claim 1, in which said carriage drive meansincludes reversible electric motor means operably connected to said doorpanel carriage to effect transverse movement thereof to bring each saiddoor panel into planar alignment with said room track portion, meansoperative upon attainment of such planar alignment to interrupt saidreversible drive means, and means for interrupting said reversible drivemeans when all door panels have been retracted.
 13. The combinationaccording to claim 1, in which said door panel drive means includes afirst drive wheel operable to move each door panel from its storagetrack member onto said room track portion, and a plurality of drivewheels spaced along Said room track portion and engaging said doorpanels to propel said door panels along said room track portion.
 14. Thecombination according to claim 1, which said door panel drive meansincludes a plurality of door panel drive wheels rotatably disposed alongsaid room track portion for selective rotation in a direction to effecteither extension or retraction of said door panels, and drive meansinterconnecting said door panel drive wheels and selectively operable toeffect rotation thereof.
 15. The combination according to claim 1, inwhich said door panel drive means includes a first drive wheel operableto move each door panel from its storage track member onto said roomtrack portion when brought into driving engagement with each said doorpanel, means mounted on said support frame and operable to effectengagement of said first drive wheel successively with each door panelas it is aligned with said room track portion to move the door panelonto the room track portion, and drive means associated with said roomtrack potion including a selectively reversible motor and a plurality ofdoor panel drive wheels for selective rotation in a direction to effectextension or retraction of said door panels along said room trackportion.
 16. The combination according to claim 1, in which said controlmeans for effecting extension and retraction of said multiple doorpanels includes a cam assembly operatively interposed between said mainsupport frame and said door panel carriage to effect lowering of eachdoor panel onto the floor when said door panel has reached its properposition along said room track portion.
 17. The combination according toclaim 1, in which said control means for effecting extension andretraction of said multiple door panels includes a plurality of limitand microswitches operable to monitor the position of said door panelswhen in retracted position and suspended from said door panel carriageso as to align each said door panel successively with said room trackportion when said doors are being extended, and effect movement of saiddoor panel carriage intermittently as each door panel is retracted andsuspended from said door panel carriage during retraction of said doorpanels.
 18. The combination according to claim 1, in which said controlmeans operable to effect extension and retraction of said multiple doorpanels includes circuit means to control said door panel drive means inproper sequence to impose a driving force on each separate door panel asit moves from said storage track member along said room track portion.